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jonezeemcgee's review against another edition
4.0
4.5
A love poem to an adolescence gone astray. Emma Cline paints a pixilated portrait of a time in which adults and teens alike scrambled to find themselves amongst the rubble of a fallen security, and how when our guards are down the wrong people can say all the right things. As a once-upon-a-time-teen that held an obsession with hippie counterculture and the Manson family, I knew the second this book came out that it would be one I would want to read. I just didn't know I would enjoy it less for its portrail of its Mansonesque cult, and more for its story of a tenuous age when acceptance was the only true currency and how echoes of that still linger in the hallways of adulthood. There were many parts of the story that called for more meat and less bone. For that I rated it under a five star mark.
A love poem to an adolescence gone astray. Emma Cline paints a pixilated portrait of a time in which adults and teens alike scrambled to find themselves amongst the rubble of a fallen security, and how when our guards are down the wrong people can say all the right things. As a once-upon-a-time-teen that held an obsession with hippie counterculture and the Manson family, I knew the second this book came out that it would be one I would want to read. I just didn't know I would enjoy it less for its portrail of its Mansonesque cult, and more for its story of a tenuous age when acceptance was the only true currency and how echoes of that still linger in the hallways of adulthood. There were many parts of the story that called for more meat and less bone. For that I rated it under a five star mark.
lucaelisabeth's review against another edition
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
mayareadsinenglish's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
yesminasackey's review against another edition
5.0
omg could NAWT put this down if tried. will be screaming from the roof tops for people to read this for the rest of time
baileydouglass's review against another edition
3.0
Hated myself the whole time I read it but it was compelling in a gross way.
paulaz's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
spoofyjo's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
libliz's review against another edition
4.0
4.5 stars.
Manson murders meets The Virgin Suicides
It's easy to forget that the protagonist is just 14, in the summer before her Freshman year of high school. I often fell into the comfort of believing Evie older than her actual years---but then Cline would snap me back to reality with some small, adolescent banality. The ever-present anxiety of being a teen coupled with the never-ending stretches of boredom and loneliness. The effect was jarring, purposeful, and unsettling. Anchoring the whole book in Evie's adult life, too, gave the novel a melancholic (if nostalgic) tone. One wonders how Evie would have turned out if she came of age in a time where she could explore her own sexuality in a healthy way, away from the toxic masculinity and fucked up patriarchal bullshit that was 1960s America...
The book was overwritten at times, but I look forward to seeing Cline mature as a writer and hope to read more of her work soon.
Manson murders meets The Virgin Suicides
It's easy to forget that the protagonist is just 14, in the summer before her Freshman year of high school. I often fell into the comfort of believing Evie older than her actual years---but then Cline would snap me back to reality with some small, adolescent banality. The ever-present anxiety of being a teen coupled with the never-ending stretches of boredom and loneliness. The effect was jarring, purposeful, and unsettling. Anchoring the whole book in Evie's adult life, too, gave the novel a melancholic (if nostalgic) tone. One wonders how Evie would have turned out if she came of age in a time where she could explore her own sexuality in a healthy way, away from the toxic masculinity and fucked up patriarchal bullshit that was 1960s America...
The book was overwritten at times, but I look forward to seeing Cline mature as a writer and hope to read more of her work soon.
mariekevdam's review against another edition
4.0
Het is dubbel, hoe ik dit boek heb ervaren. Het is prachtig beeldend geschreven maar soms ook weer 'too much'. Ik weet niet of het door de vertaling komt maar ik het is soms zo bloemrijk beschreven dat ik er door uit het verhaal getrokken word. Terwijl ik er ook heel vaak van geniet. De beelden worden er vaak zo levensecht door, alsof ik de personages aan kan raken. Het verhaal is fascinerend maar toch blijft er een soort afstand, word ik er niet echt in meegetrokken. Dubbel dus...
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Toevoeging 05/08/16
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Na het lezen van deze review (https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1643204100) kon ik het boek beter plaatsen. De reviewer legt zo goed uit waarom dit verhaal gaat over hoe het is om een tienermeisje te zijn en hoe knap schrijfster Emma Cline dit beschrijft. Het boek leeft bovendien nog steeds bij me, nu 1,5 maand later. Ik heb er dan ook een ster aan toegevoegd.
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Toevoeging 05/08/16
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Na het lezen van deze review (https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1643204100) kon ik het boek beter plaatsen. De reviewer legt zo goed uit waarom dit verhaal gaat over hoe het is om een tienermeisje te zijn en hoe knap schrijfster Emma Cline dit beschrijft. Het boek leeft bovendien nog steeds bij me, nu 1,5 maand later. Ik heb er dan ook een ster aan toegevoegd.